Snow Globe
by SerenBex
Summary: Third in a series. Evie and the Doctor are back. It's Christmas Eve and he's got a surprise for her. A surprise that OBVIOUSLY doesn't go well. A few old faces will be back at some point in the story! Hope you enjoy it! :D
1. It's Christmas Eve, Evie

_**Hello lovely, lovely people! Here it is! The THIRD part of Evie Jones's adventures with the Doctor! This is the last 'normal' story about them. I say 'normal' when I don't really mean 'normal' (making absolutely no sense at all!), maybe 'straight-forward' would be a better word? It's just that after 'Snow Globe' things get a little... complicated for them! Anyway, more about that when this story is over!**_

_**You might need to have read 'Through the Pages' and 'Metal and Lasers' to get some parts of this!**_

_**I hope you enjoy it - comment and let me know! :D x**_

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><p>It was almost Christmas, December 24th to be exact. Evie was scribbling in her diary – she'd taken to writing down everything she and the Doctor did together after Erin had told them that that was what she and Millie did each time they saw the pair. Since then, they'd seen and done so many wonderful things, her and the Doctor.<p>

They'd visited Adipose 3, the breeding world of the cute little fat-creatures. Evie had wanted to keep one as a pet, but the Doctor had put his foot down; they were children, not animals. That had made Evie change her mind very quickly about wanting one. There was no way she wanted a child depending on her; not yet, at least.

From there they'd visited Polongus and had a picnic with some of the natives; slug like creatures with lots of eyes. They might have been weird looking and put the teenager off her sandwiches slightly, but they were incredibly amusing. They told the most ridiculous riddles in their squishy, slug voices. Evie wasn't sure how she'd expected slugs to talk before – it wasn't really something she'd ever thought about – but now every time she saw one of the molluscs she would imagine the voices in her head.

Then they'd gone to Voga, the planet of gold, which was situated just past Jupiter. The Vogans had been deeply suspicious of their visitors at first, not that Evie blamed them. The Doctor had told her that Voga contained more gold than anywhere else in the known galaxy. If that wasn't a reason to be suspicious of strangers, Evie didn't know what was! That trip had involved running; lots and lots of running.

Aside from these there had been more, countless more, adventures. Evie couldn't remember them all, even thought they'd all happened within the last four months. She was grateful for the diary idea – at least she got to hang onto these memories.

It scared her, not that she could find the words to voice her worries to the Doctor, that she was having trouble remembering. It had started with her parents; forgetting what they looked like and even forgetting the details about their deaths. She'd put that down to trauma – her brain had tried to stop her remembering the things that upset her most. But then she'd started forgetting other things too: names, dates, faces, important things that she had in her mind. She even had trouble remembering things day-to-day.

"What are you doing?" The Doctor demanded, making the teenager jump. She pushed the diary out of sight, not wanting him to see it. Evie was self-conscious about her diary; not entirely sure if the Doctor would approve or not. He was so very secretive.

"Nothing." She muttered. Then she smiled brightly at him, her eyes lighting up with excitement. "Hey, it's Christmas Eve, isn't it, Sweetie?" Doubt had crept into her eyes for a brief moment, something which did not go unnoticed by the Doctor.

He laughed and then looked hard at her. "You alright?" Evie glared at him. She hated it when the Doctor asked if she was alright. "OK, OK."

"Where next?" She asked, standing quickly and pushing the diary out of sight underneath the TARDIS console. With her back to him she was able to close her eyes and take several steadying breaths.

"Well… seeing as you correctly pointed out that it's Christmas Eve, Evie… how would you like to go to the Christmas Planet?" The Doctor asked. He seemed more excited about the prospect than she was as the suggestion sunk in. "I've never been there but it seems appropriate!"

"There's a Christmas Planet?" Evie asked, raising her eyebrows cynically. This wasn't really the response the Doctor had been expecting, but he went with it knowing what the eighteen-year-old was like.

"Yes. Well, technically it's called Orbis Nix, but Christmas Planet is far more fitting in my opinion."

"How would you know?" She teased him, moving around the TARDIS and trailing her fingers over the buttons and levers. "You said you've never been there."

"I've read books." The Doctor told her with a grin, tapping her nose gently with his finger as he passed. "So?"

Rather than responding orally to his question, Evie just pulled the lever that kick started the TARDIS and winked at him. He groaned, having to race around to make sure that they were on the right course and not about to end up somewhere totally different and potentially life-threatening.

"You are SO annoying." He moaned, glancing up from his mad dash around the controls.

"I love you too." Evie said before she could stop herself. Then she stopped in her tracks, wondering where that comment had sprung from. She hastily tried to clarify. Stumped for words, she just punched him in the chest, before starting to babble in a panicked tone. "Not like LOVE you love you. Just… love you."

"I know." The Doctor told her, grinning. He knew exactly what she meant and the feeling was mutual. There was no romantic feeling between them. The only love in their relationship was the type of love a father might have for his daughter, or a person might have for their favourite pet. Besides, she was only eighteen; a child. The Doctor grinned to himself, deciding not to vocalise that explanation to the teenager. "Don't worry. I know the signs to look out for when things are going to get a bit… weird."

"Yeah, right." Evie said with a grin, leaning against the railings that ran around the console. "Who'd fancy you? They'd have to be totally off their rocker."

"I think you'll find I'm a catch. Martha Jones thought so, anyway." He told her with a wink. "As did... other people."

"Eurgh, what? She's given us Joneses a bad name!" Evie said with a grin. "And what other people? People with terrible eyesight?" She started giggling at the pretend offence on the Doctor's face; glad that he'd overlooked her choice of words. Or rather that he'd understood how she'd meant them.

"How rude! And when I've brought you to the Christmas Planet and everything."


	2. You're Very Similar

She hadn't really thought about what she was expecting the Christmas Planet to be like, but Evie couldn't deny that it suited its name perfectly. Considering the Doctor's track record, anything would have been possible, but the eighteen-year-old had stepped out of the little blue Police box and been confronted by snow as far as the eye could see.

There were even Christmas trees, decorated with tinsel and baubles and tiny, shimmering lights. Evie automatically went towards the nearest tree, her hand stretched out eagerly to touch it. The Doctor grabbed her by the shoulder, pulling her backwards and aiming the sonic at the plant. He looked at the readings before grudgingly nodding towards the teenager.

"What was that about?" Evie asked, rolling her eyes. "It's just a tree."

"Not everything is exactly what it seems. I've had a run-in with killer Christmas trees before…" He said slowly. Evie shook her head; everything with this man was just one big drama.

"Well this one is just a tree, yes?" She waited for the Time Lord to nod, before she continued. "Doctor… this is the Christmas Planet. What could possibly go wrong?"

He raised his eyebrows but said nothing. The teenager pulled a face, realising what she'd just said and instantly regretting it. Anything could go wrong; everything in fact. But right now it was Christmas Eve and she was on the Christmas Planet. It was too exciting to worry about killer Christmas trees or… psychopathic Santas. As she told the Doctor her philosophy, he raised his eyebrows and whistled.

"Let's just hope we don't run into any of those."

There was so much that Evie didn't know and she got annoyed when the Doctor said something cryptic like that without any sort of explanation. But she was getting better at knowing when to demand information and when not to. Right now the Doctor was wearing his I-don't-want-to-talk-about-it face, so the teenager kept her mouth buttoned. Instead she focused on what was around them.

After a couple of minutes, however, she got bored of taking in the merits of snow and decided to badger the Doctor for information instead. Not about the Santa comment, she guessed that he really didn't want to talk about that. Instead she decided to ask him about other worlds and the things that lived on them.

"So… Doc." Evie said with a sly smirk; she knew he hated it when she abbreviated his name. At least it would bring him out of his thoughtful mood. "Where else have you been… I mean, you've told me some things, but you're like… really old. There must be so much else that you've seen and done."

The Doctor smiled, indulging her as she spoke. "There are lots of things." He agreed.

"So… tell me. I want to know."

"Name something, somewhere?" He told her with a grin. Evie thought for a moment; her ability to follow that request was limited; the only places and things that she knew where the ones that she'd seen or heard about.

"The war?"

"Which one?"

"First."

"I was there… muddy…" He shuddered slightly, a shadow passing through his eyes. Then he smiled. "Think harder, Evie. That was an obvious one."

Evie looked puzzled, but then thought harder. "Pompeii?"

"Ahh!" The Doctor laughed. "Pompeii… I was there right at the end." His expression changed, suddenly sad. "Me and Donna… It was my fault."

"Your fault? It was a volcano. You can't cause a… oh…"

He was looking at her with so much guilt in his eyes that she couldn't bring herself to carry on with her sentence. Normal people couldn't cause a Volcano, but this was the Doctor they were talking about – there was no one _less_ normal. For a couple of minutes they continued in silence. Then the teenager's curiosity got the better of her.

"I'm sorry, Sweetie… but… what happened? Was it an accident?"

"No. I… I had no choice. It was Pompeii or the Earth."

Evie chewed her lip nodding slowly. She'd known there had to be a reason. He looked so sad still that the girl slipped her hand into his, squeezing it tightly. The Doctor glanced at her, a weak smile on his lips. Then, after closing his eyes for a moment or two, he smiled more broadly.

"Try another one."

"Really?" Evie couldn't believe that he actually wanted to carry on this conversation. She didn't want to bring back anymore bad memories for her friend.

But even the most innocent things might do that. What if she said something totally innocent… like the Queen's coronation, or the day she had been born… and it turned out that it held bad memories for him? Evie couldn't bring herself to cause him any more pain. Especially not straight away.

Then she had a thought. "Doctor… tell me about Donna."

"I have." He said, furrowing his eyebrows at her.

"No, you've mentioned her as part of your great adventure stories." Evie argued, raising her eyebrows. "I want to know about Donna… Donna Noble?"

He sighed, smiling. "Donna Noble… where do I start with Donna Noble." The teenager grinned and sat down on a tree stump. The Doctor looked at her, a mixture of amusement and confusion on his face. Then he sighed, brushed the snow off a tree stump just to her left and sat down.

"Right… story time."

"Donna… she was… she was so beautifully human. And persistent. Donna was nothing if not persistent. I met her first at her wedding –"

"Her wedding?" Evie cut in, unable to stop herself. "You ruined her wedding, didn't you?"

"Who's telling this story?" The Doctor asked, raising his eyebrows. Evie pursed her lips, signalling that she'd keep quiet. The man doubted that would last very long. "Anyway… there was a Racnoss – like a big spider woman – and her husband, fiancé, whatever… was working for it. So, after we sorted that out I… I asked her to come with me. But she said no."

"She said no? Was she crazy?" The Doctor smiled at her outburst, knowing that she wouldn't have been able to keep quiet for long.

"Yes." He said simply. "But she was also amazing. She found me… I found her… whatever. We found each other a while later –"

"– after Martha?"

"After Martha." He confirmed. "So then we travelled together. It was brilliant. _She_ was brilliant. She figured out there was something odd going on with the Adipose Industries and –"

"Adipose Industries… like the Adipose that we saw?" Evie cut in again. The Doctor sighed and shot her an exasperated look, but nodded.

"Yes. Anyway… then there was so much more. ATMOS, Agatha Christie, the Ood, The Library… Donna was with me when…" He paused for a split second, something flitting through his eyes. "And when Jenny… But Donna, she was so human. She reminded me how to be human – properly human. And she was brave and feisty and fun. You'd have loved her... she'd have loved you. She used to tell me how much she hated me as well and she used to hit me if I annoyed her; you're very similar. Donna was my best friend." He smiled sadly. "On second thoughts, it's a good thing you can't meet her. I don't think I could cope with the pair of you at the same time."

"I can't meet her?" The teenager asked, bewildered. "Why? She's not… dead?"

"No. There was… basically in simple terms she had absorbed Time Lord Knowledge and it was dangerous. I was forced to wipe her memory. If she remembers me, even for a second, it'll cause her brain to burn out."

"You have a good effect on women, don't you?" Evie said sarcastically. But she looked worried.

"That won't happen to you, don't worry." He reassured her. "I promise."

Evie wasn't convinced, but she trusted him; she couldn't help it. Then her curiosity kicked in. "Who's Jenny?"

"Jenny… my daughter."

The teenager's mouth dropped open. Something raged through her… something that felt suspiciously like jealousy. "You have a daughter?"

"Had… yes, technically. She came from my DNA. Donna named her. But she's dead." He said, shivering slightly. "Come on, let's keep going.


	3. Elf and Safety, Get It?

Evie felt terrible. Not only had she brought back memories of the Doctor's best friend, Donna; the woman he could never see again in case it killed her, but she'd also made him think of his dead daughter. _Great work_, she told herself angrily.

He hadn't spoken since they'd started walking again, concentrating on his own thoughts. Despite what the teenager was thinking, the Doctor wasn't brooding on the feelings that had been brought back up inside him. He was puzzled, trying to work out connections. There were always connections. So how was Evie connected to everything else?

"Look!" Evie pointed excitedly at a large shape through the trees. It looked like a huge Snow Globe. The teenager glanced at her friend, who shrugged, grinned and grabbed hold of her hand.

"Come on then!" He exclaimed. "What are we waiting for?"

The pair almost ran through the snow, which had started to fall heavily again, towards the structure. It was, indeed a Snow Globe. The base was about twice the Doctor's height and it was in this that the front door – a large extravagantly carved door – was set. He grinned and they made their way towards it, eager to be inside out of the snow.

"Stop." A squeaky voice called, making the pair glance around in confusion. They hadn't seen anyone, but someone had clearly seen them. "What is your business at the Snow Globe?"

"It's even _called_ the Snow Globe!" Evie breathed excitedly.

The Doctor didn't reply, his gaze had fallen on a small figure, perhaps half Evie's height, that was standing and watching them, a teddy bear clutched under its arm. The figure was dressed in bright red trousers, a green shirt with a blue apron over it and curly-toed brown shoes. On its head not even attempting to conceal its pointed ears was a tall, pointed yellow hat.

"Ooh…" The Doctor murmured. "That's one for the diary."

"Clashing outfit, much." Evie muttered, her eyes raking over the small creature. "What is it?"

"I am here, you know." The little man said. "My name is Bob, I'm an elf."

Evie snorted, unable to contain her amusement. "Bob? What kind of elf name is that?"

"It's my name." The elf snapped back. "I repeat, what is your business at the Snow Globe?"

"Sorry about my… friend." The Doctor said smoothly, shooting Evie a look. "She's a bit overexcited. Bob's a _great_ name! We're from Health and Safety… Elf and Safety, get it?" Evie rolled her eyes and the Doctor sighed, disappointed that his joke had fallen flat. He flashed the psychic paper at the elf. "John Smith and Evie Jones, we're here to inspect the… Snow Globe. You know, look at working conditions and all that."

"Do you have an appointment?"

"Well… no." The Doctor said, pulling a face.

"Not much point in making an appointment for an on the spot check, is there?" Evie jumped in, sensing that the elf was about to tell them to leave.

"You don't look like Health and Safety Inspectors." The elf continued suspiciously. Evie glanced at the Doctor, who seemed to be having the same thought as her; why was he so reluctant to let them in.

"Well… who wants to look like everyone expects them to." The Doctor continued cheerfully, having enough of the chatter. "Shall we?"

He pushed past the elf and Evie followed quickly. They strode confidently into the building, the Doctor flashing his psychic paper a couple more times at bemused elves. Evie gasped. Inside the Snow Globe was amazing. The roof was made of glass and through it they could see the globe part. It was as though the world outside was coming in through the Globe to the floor below. The teenager took several deep breaths as she realised that it basically was.

The Doctor's attention was fixed more on what was happening inside. Conveyer belts were carrying all sorts of objects in a continuous loop around the room. Every so often an elf would lift an object off, carry it to a small work bench and begin modifying it. When they'd finished, they would carry it to a hole in the wall and post it through.

"Interesting." He said, pulling his glasses out of his top pocket and putting them on. Evie groaned. The Doctor wearing his glasses was never a good sign.

"Are we…" She hesitated, wondering whether her question was going to make her sound like a complete idiot. "Are we in Santa's Grotto?"

He looked at her for a moment, as though he was considering the answer. Then he grinned. "It would appear so, isn't this brilliant!"

Evie laughed, looking around her happily. She had never fully stopped believing in Santa, despite everyone telling her over and over again that he didn't exist. Somewhere in the back of her mind she'd always thought that maybe, just maybe, he did.

"So… what do we do?" She asked. "I mean, there's one day 'til Christmas, less than that, surely they're all really busy!"

"We are going to go looking for the man in charge; Santa Claus, St Nick, Babbo Natale, Papa Noel, Julenisse, Kanakaloka." He said excitedly, reminding Evie of a small child.

"Stop talking, Sweetie." She ordered, shaking her head exasperatedly.

But the Doctor was overexcited now. He bounced around the workshop, glancing over the elves' shoulders, making suggestions and laughing out loud at some of the toys. The teenager rolled her eyes, looking apologetically at the elves around her, who were staring oddly at them.

"Don't mind him… he just takes his job very seriously." She told them mentally shouting at the man.

"I'm glad to hear it." A booming voice said behind Evie. She spun round on the spot and found herself looking at a curly white beard. Slowly she raised her gaze and saw that the beard belonged to an old man. He smiled warmly at her and held out his hand. "Edgar Christmas, but you can call me Santa; everyone does."

Her jaw dropping open, Evie shook the hand that was being offered to her. Inside she felt as though she was melting. She had just shaken hands with Father Christmas himself. And his name was Edgar.

"Evie Jones." She said, lamely. "Health and Safety."

Santa looked at her inquiringly, as though he were trying to read her mind. Uncomfortably Evie squirmed, trying to release her hand from the large man's grasp. It was no mean feat, as he was squeezing her fingers tightly.

"You're not Health and Safety. You're too young; you're just a child." He said quietly.

"No, no. We definitely are. Mr Smith's my boss. I'm on a youth employment placement. You know, get the young people into careers." She rambled, throwing words together and hoping they made sense in that order. "Isn't that right, Mr Smith?" She added loudly, sending him a pleading look.

Sensing her distress, the Doctor returned to her side, flashing the psychic paper at Santa and putting an arm over Evie's shoulders. "Sure is. John Smith. An honour to meet you, sir."

The man released Evie's hand from his grasp so that he could shake the one the Doctor was offering him. The Time Lord's eyebrows shot up as he realised how firm the man's grip was.

"So… Mr Smith, Miss Jones, to what do we owe the pleasure of your visit?" He asked, fixing them with an intense stare. He turned and started walking. After a quick look at each other, Evie and the Doctor followed.

"Oh… you know… we thought we'd pop in and see if everything was running smoothly. You know, make sure elf rights are being considered." The Doctor rambled, taking a quick look through a door to the left.

"Yeah… we're big on elf rights." Evie added. The Doctor looked at her questioning and the teenager shrugged. _'I don't know what to say!_' She mouthed at him. The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"And is everything satisfactory?" Santa asked, not turning to look at them.

They were walking along a corridor now, away from the workshop. Candy cane patterns were carved into the walls and the carpets were patterned with pictures of presents. Evie couldn't help thinking that it was all a bit much; a bit… kitsch.

Before they could answer, something to the right of them caught the Doctor's attention and he looked through a door, which was standing ajar. Evie peeked in underneath his arm. A large metal orb was hovering and humming in the centre of the room. All around were large, white cubes, which were wired up to the sphere.

"Now that's interesting." The Doctor said in a whisper.


	4. SANTA

"What's that?" The Doctor asked, pointing towards the orb. Behind him, Santa was looking perplexed.

"That? Oh… that's just the sorting room." He said vaguely, starting to walk away again. The Doctor didn't look convinced.

"That's no sorting room." He argued. Instead of following, he went inside and pulled out the sonic screwdriver. Raising it in the air, he began scanning the orb, looking with confusion at the readings. "This is some kind of energy converter…"

"I told you, Mr Smith, this is the sorting room. The presents are placed in the boxes and this device transports them all over the World."

"Makes sense." Evie muttered. "I mean, how else are they going to get around the World in one night?"

The Doctor looked at her despairingly, as though she was stupid. "Time travel; the way Santas have been working for centuries."

"Santas, plural?"

"Of course… SANTA is a corporation – Seasonal Auxiliary Nocturnal Transport Alliance – and Santa himself is just the big boss of the company. There have been hundreds of Santas over the years."

"That's rubbish." The teenager scoffed shaking her head as she thought about the acronym.

He pulled a face, agreeing. "Yeah… but they made the meaning up _after_ the word. They had Santa, they just needed an explanation."

"Fair enough." Evie said with a shrug. "So what's this machine thing? What is it really?"

"As I told you," Santa interrupted before the Doctor could answer, "it is a distribution post."

"But no, it's not. Is it?"

Evie looked between the Doctor and Santa, trying to work out what was happening. There seemed to be some kind of silent argument happening between the two men. Neither was looking away from the other, each growing steadily more irritated. After what seemed a long time, Santa smiled and motioned back towards the corridor.

"If you wouldn't mind following me to the office, my elves have important work to do. We are nearing our deadline, you know." He said cheerily. Out of nowhere, it seemed to the teenager, a crowd of elves had appeared in the doorway. The stood politely aside as the visitors and their boss moved through them and out inside the corridor. As soon as they had left the room the door slammed shut and there was a clicking sound as it was locked from the inside.

The Doctor put the sonic in his top pocket, raising his eyebrows at Evie. Wordlessly they followed the large man along the hallway. He stopped at his office and turned to face them, the same sinisterly bright smile on his face.

"Now, how can I help you?" He asked. "Do you need to see paperwork?"

"Oh… yes!" The Doctor said, remembering their cover story suddenly. "Health and Safety."

"Paperwork would be useful." Evie said smiling.

"I'm afraid the paperwork is all electronic these days." Santa told them. "You'll have to access it via the communications mainframe in the data centre."

The Doctor glanced across at the girl and, seeing her blank face, grinned briefly. "I'll take a look at that. Miss Jones, why don't you take another look at the workshop – speak to the workers, check that everything adds up."

"'Course." Evie nodded gratefully. People, or in this case elves, were more her thing; especially compared to technology that was probably on a scale that was completely above her.

"In that case… If you'd like to follow me, Mr Smith. Miss Jones can you find your way back to the workshop?"

Evie nodded and set off back the way they'd come after sending the Doctor a wide-eyed look. His response had been a wink and a toothy grin, his excitement obvious. She sighed.

x-x

"So… Cynthia…" The eighteen-year-old said, looking into the face of a female elf. "How do you like working here, for SANTA?"

"I like it very much, thank you, miss." The elf replied. Evie smiled and moved away. This was harder than she'd thought. Obviously the Doctor wanted her to find out if anything weird was going on. But wasn't the fact that she was talking to elves in Santa's Grotto weird enough? How could it _get_ any weirder?

With a large sigh, the girl made her way around the workshop, exchanging words with some of the elves, asking pretty standard questions; or what Evie thought were standard questions for a Health and Safety officer, anyway. She didn't really have a clue what she was supposed to be asking. The elves all seemed to be happy enough. They were all completely focused on what they were doing. Evie supposed that with only hours to go they were under pressure to finish.

She hesitated beside a table containing a row of very realistic dolls. She'd always wanted a doll like that when she was younger, but she'd never been given one. Her younger sisters had both had them, but Evie never had. She supposed they had cost less when her sisters had wanted them, what with the age gap and everything. Picking one up, she looked at it, smiling sadly.

"Ouch!" She dropped the doll back onto the table, looking at her hand. Something sharp had stabbed her palm, causing it to start bleeding. The elves nearest her leapt to her side, one looking at her hand and the other examining the doll.

"This toy is faulty." The elf clutching the doll, which was almost as big as him, said seriously. There was a crackling sound and the doll vanished in a flash and burst of smoke.

Evie's mouth dropped open as her mind tried to process what had just happened. A jet of red light had shot from the elf's eyes and the toy had burst into flames before disintegrating. Surely elves weren't supposed to have lasers for eyes? And she was sure she'd caught sight of rows of razor sharp teeth in the elf's mouth as the laser had been fired. But now, as she looked closely, she saw that the teeth were definitely normal.

"Are you alright, miss?" The second elf asked, still clutching her hand. Speechless, probably for the first time in her life, Evie nodded. A quick glance down at her hand showed her that the wound was already healing. That, in itself was odd, but she had bigger things to think about at the moment. The elves exchanged a look, one on each side of the teenager. "I think we should take you to the medical centre, just to be sure. If you do not disagree, miss."

The way the elves were gripping her arms, Evie didn't really think she had a choice. Besides, who was she to argue with creatures with lasers for eyes and razors for teeth? As they headed out of the workshop the teenager sighed; _here we go again_, she thought.

x-x

"Found what you need, Mr Smith?" Santa asked, coming into the data centre where the Doctor had set up the system to check for anomalous information. He had his glasses on again.

"There's some interesting stuff here, Santa." He said thoughtfully. "It seems that that machine in there doesn't just send things out. It brings them back as well."

Raising an eyebrow he turned to look at the large man with his long, curly, white beard and crinkled face. Something sinister was going on here and the Doctor was worried to realise that Santa had something to do with it.

"Is this the list?" He asked, bringing up a document on the screen. Santa smiled and nodded.

"Those are the good children. The ones that are deserving."

"And this is the naughty list?" The Doctor clarified, bringing up a second list beside the first. Santa's face clouded slightly and he gave a curt nod. Smiling grimly, the Time Lord brought up a third list. "And this is last year's naughty list, am I right?"

Santa nodded. "But what are they to you? Surely my lists have nothing to do with Health and Safety?"

"No, you're right. Just interested." The Doctor told him grinning and pressing print. He collected the papers and folded them, with difficulty, pushing them into his coat pocket.

"I came to tell you that your acquaintance, Miss Jones, has been taken to the medical centre." Santa said curtly, eyeing the Doctor's pocket suspiciously. The Doctor's face fell, taking on an exasperated expression.

"What's she done this time?"


	5. Everything Vanished

"I'm absolutely fine." Evie protested as the elves marched her towards the medical centre. "It was just a cut. I've had worse, trust me."

The small creatures, which only came up to the teenager's waist, didn't appear to be listening, however and were propelling her along the corridor. They reached a door which Evie thought she recognised and one of the elves entered a code into the panel. As the door opened, the girl realised where they were.

"Hang on… you said we were going to the medical centre." She protested as they pushed her into the room, sealing the door behind them. "This is that distribution thingy."

"It's fine." The elf on her right said, propelling her towards one of the white cubes. He typed a code into the panel on the side and the front lifted off. "If you wouldn't mind, miss." It signalled that it wanted her to get inside.

"I would, actually." She said acidly, shaking her head and standing her ground. "There is no way that I am getting into that… box."

Before her eyes, the elves changed. Their eyes turned red and their skin became a mottled yellow. As they opened their mouths, Evie saw the rows of razor-sharp teeth again. They approached her and the teenager held up her hands.

"OK, OK… in the box." She said slowly, taking a deep breath and doing as she was told. There was just enough room for her to sit cross-legged in the cube. The elf tapped at the panel and the front of the cube lowered back down, shutting her in. "Now what?" She muttered.

There was a display on the inside of the front section and Evie swivelled so that she could see it more closely. The squiggles on it were rearranging themselves into English. She wasn't worried this time; the Doctor had explained that it was the effect of the TARDIS.

"SANTA Teleportation system 5.0." Evie muttered, reading the words forming themselves on the screen. "System online. What? They're sending me somewhere." She put a hand on her forehead willing herself to think quickly. "OK, I need to override it. But how?"

Putting her hand behind her, Evie pulled her gun out of the waistband of her jeans. She'd promised the Doctor she would only use it in absolute emergencies. The way she saw it, this was _definitely_ an absolute emergency. She didn't intend to use the gun, but holding it made her feel safer.

"OK… override the system. Come on, Evie, think. What would the Doctor do?" She said aloud, tapping on the screen. The display flickered, showing her what had recently been input into the system. Co-ordinates of some sort were flashing at her. "Is that where they're sending me? Where even is that?"

Panic was rising inside her now. A countdown appeared on the side of the display. 20 – 19 –18… Evie swore and she couldn't keep her hands still. They were flitting between her hair, her face and the wall in front of her as she racked her brains.

"Keep calm…" She ordered herself. 14 – 13 – 12… She was running out of time and had no idea what she needed to do. Her eyes raked over the display and she tapped it a couple more times, hoping something useful would appear.

8 – 7 – 6…

"Oh… God…" There was nothing she could do. As she watched the numbers getting lower a completely mad idea entered her brain. She glanced down at the laser blaster in her lap. Biting her lip Evie made up her mind.

3 – 2 – 1…

Just before the countdown ended she aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. The laser beam hit the controls and there was a shower of golden sparks at the impact. Evie covered her eyes, shading them from the light and held her breath.

For a couple of seconds there was nothing. Just silence. She thought, by some miracle, it had worked.

And then there was a cracking sound, a red light and everything vanished. Evie felt as though she was falling. Air was whooshing around her, whipping her hair around her face, pulling at her clothes.

Then it stopped.

Evie sat up, looking around her in astonishment. She seemed to be in some kind of living room. There was a sofa and a couple of armchairs and a coffee table and a TV. It was completely normal. Shakily the teenager got to her feet, turning to see what was behind her.

"Who the _hell_ are you?"

x-x

The Doctor followed Santa to the medical centre, wondering what damage the teenager had done to herself this time. Every single time he let her out of his sight something bad happened. Maybe he should confine her to the TARDIS… or put her on one of those baby harnesses? Surely that would stop her getting into trouble? On the other hand, this was Evie Jones he was thinking about; he was sure she'd manage to get herself into trouble in a locked, empty box.

The medical centre resembled a hospital ward, but on a much small scale. The beds were half normal size – elf sized. Elf nurses wandered around in little uniforms tending to their patients. The Doctor couldn't help himself grinning at the similarity to a human ward.

"Good afternoon, Santa." A male elf said, inclining his head slightly as he spotted the two men heading in his direction.

"Afternoon, Doctor Frank." Santa replied with a smile. The Doctor had to stifle a slight twitch at the word 'doctor' as he realised that the man was talking to the elf, not him. "We've come to pay Miss Jones a visit."

"Ahh… the human female." Doctor Frank said nodding. "I am afraid that won't be possible. She is in a private room. No one is allowed in or out, except specially equipped medical staff."

"Why?" The Doctor demanded panicking. Was something seriously wrong with the teenager? His hearts skipped a beat as he considered that possibility. "What's wrong with her?"

"A contagious disease that is fatal to elves." The elf told him seriously, consulting a chart in front of him. "She must be kept isolated to prevent the spread of the disease."

"I'm not an elf… it won't affect me." The Doctor said hurriedly, grabbing the chart from the creature and running his eyes over the information on it. His eyebrows furrowed. "Surely it's just a common cold?"

"To humans, perhaps. But one sneeze could wipe out the entire population of the Snow Globe. No… we cannot risk letting the virus escape. You may rest assured that Miss Jones is receiving the best attention we can give her."

"Can I at least see her?" The Doctor demanded, refusing to give up.

"I'm sorry… that isn't possible."

Allowing himself to be escorted out of the medical centre, the Doctor's eyes narrowed. Something was very wrong here. He had the distinct feeling that Evie was in trouble. Santa was still watching him closely, so the Doctor plastered a grin over his face and rubbed his hands together.

"Well, seeing as it looks as though I'm stuck here until Evie recovers I may as well take another look at that rather beautiful communications system of yours." He said brightly. Santa didn't look keen, but the Time Lord didn't wait for permission, setting off in the direction he'd been brought not long ago. His face was set in a grim mask of determination as he strode away.


	6. Where Are You?

_**Comments? :)**_

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><p>"Now then…" The Doctor muttered, bringing up a floor plan of the Snow Globe on the screen of the computer system in the data centre. "Where are you really, Evie Jones?"<p>

He couldn't believe what the screen was telling him. According to the map there was no trace of the teenager in the building at all. He changed the scanning conditions, changing the requirements to pick up any close to human life at all. But still there was nothing. Apparently the only living things within the Snow Globe were him, Santa and the elves.

"How is that possible?" He muttered, pulling at his hair and striding around the room. "Maybe…" He tapped at the computer system again, inputting different instructions. Still nothing showed Evie's location. "Elves don't lie… they can't. But that means. ARGH!"

This time his search had told him exactly what he needed to know. The creatures he'd thought were elves were not elves. They were a related, but completely different species altogether; Vola – the thieves of the elf world. Running his hands through his hair, the Doctor thought about what he'd found out.

Santa was working with the thieves to… to what? They had some kind of teleportation device in the building, but what did that mean? He pulled out the lists and laid them out on the desk in front of him. They were lists of children's names, the UK's children; the naughty and the nice. What was the importance of the lists? He was so sure that they meant something.

"Aari, Abigail, eight." He read the first name on last year's naughty list. Then his eyes flicked to this year's naughty list. Abigail's name was no longer on it. "Good for you." He muttered, checking the good list. Her name wasn't there either. Suspicion built up inside him. How had Abigail Aari disappeared off the lists? Maybe she'd moved and was under a different country… or maybe she was dead.

His eyes moved quickly between the three lists comparing them. None of the children from last year's naughty list were included on either of this year's lists. They couldn't _all_ have moved to another country or died. The Doctor was worried now.

He moved to the computer, typing Abigail Aari into the system and waiting impatiently for it to check the records. She definitely wasn't on any lists for this year. Nor were any of the other children from last year's naughty list. They seemed to have vanished.

"So where are you?" The Doctor murmured his eyes wide as he stared at the blank screen.

x-x

"I asked who you were." Repeated the middle-aged, red-headed woman advancing on Evie; a spatula clasped tightly in her hand.

Evie took a step backwards. "I-I'm Evie… Evie Jones. How… how did I get here? Where even _is_ here?"

"Don't play sill beggars with me, love. I wasn't born yesterday." The woman snapped, narrowing her eyes. "You obviously broke into my house."

"No… honestly, I didn't." Evie told her pleadingly. The woman's eyebrows furrowed for a moment and a look of uncertainty flashed through her eyes as she surveyed the teenager. She lowered the spatula slightly.

"Donna?" A shrill voice called from the hallway. As the red-head turned briefly to glance behind her, Evie's mouth dropped open. Donna? Surely this wasn't… _his_ Donna.

Donna turned, catching the confusion and horror on the teenager's face before she had a chance to hide it. The woman's eyes narrowed as she realised this wasn't any ordinary burglary. The girl didn't look as though she went around breaking into other people's houses; although looks could be deceiving. There was something about her that made Donna feel unbelievably sad.

"In here, mum." She called and Evie jumped. A blonde woman entered the room and screamed at the sight of the teenage girl standing in the middle of her carpet. Her eyes flickered down to the laser blaster that was still clutched tightly in Evie's hand. Hastily the teenager tucked it out of sight in her waist band once more.

"It's Christmas Eve!" Donna's mother snapped, recovering herself. "How can you people be so heartless?"

"Me, people?" Evie repeated in confusion. Then she remembered what Donna had said about her breaking in. "No! Honestly, I didn't break in. I wouldn't do that. I don't even know how I got here." Her protests even sounded weak to her.

"Let's see what the police have to say to that." The blonde snapped, picking up the phone.

"Please… don't." Evie begged. The police thought she was dead, what would happen if they suddenly had to arrest her. Then something occurred to Evie and her mouth fell open in astonishment.

She was dead. Apart from her sisters, the only humans that had ever been able to see and hear her were ones that didn't exist in her timeline – either those who'd been born a long time before or a long time after her. The Doctor thought there was about a hundred year blanket where she was completely undetectable. So how could they see her?

Completely overwhelmed by this realisation Evie tried to do a runner. She pushed past the older woman and headed outside. Donna, however, was close on her heels and, as Evie reached the pavement outside the house, the red-head's hand closed around the teenager's arm.

"No!" Evie tried to wrench her arm away, remembering what the Doctor had said about Donna's brain burning up. She didn't want to stay here if there was a possibility that she could cause that to happen.

As Donna's hand closed around the girl's arm she got the strangest sensation. Images flickered through her mind, like they were coming from a television with terrible reception. She couldn't make them out properly, but the feelings they gave her… it was as though something had been missing, something that was just out of reach but was coming closer.

"Who are you?" Donna breathed, staring into Evie's eyes. "I… I know you."

The teenager shook her head vehemently. "No, no you don't. You can't ever know who I am." She said. Evie wasn't quite sure why she'd said that. Surely knowing about Evie Jones, an orphan from Shopshire, wouldn't hurt Donna.

"Why?"

Tears forming in her eyes, Evie just stared back, her face screwing up slightly as she tried to stop herself actually crying. Donna looked at her, a mixture of confusion and shock on her face. They looked at each other for a couple of moments before an old man appeared, breaking the moment.

"Donna? What's going on?"

"Gramps…" Donna breathed, letting go of Evie. The teenager didn't even notice and stayed rooted to the spot, taking quick, shallow breaths. "This girl broke in. We need to keep her in the house until the police get here."


	7. Waiting for Wilf

_**Ahhh! Donna's back! That's exciting, right? I love Donna! :P**_

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><p>"You have to let me go!" Evie hissed to the old man. He laughed, keeping hold of her arm. They were sitting at the kitchen table. Donna and her mother were keeping a look out at the windows for the police and the man was watching her. "Seriously…"<p>

"Why? Why do we have to do that?" He asked, raising his eyebrows.

Evie took a deep breath. "Because I have to find a way to get back."

"Back where?" The smile had faded from Wilf's face, almost as though he was dreading her next words. The girl knew who he was; the Doctor had spoken fondly of Donna's grandfather.

"Back to _him_… Back to the Doctor." She told him in a low voice so that only he could hear her. "I can't be here." She looked meaningfully at Donna. Wilf followed her gaze.

"Why _are_ you here?" He asked his voice no louder than hers had been. The teenager sighed deeply and then shrugged.

"I really don't know. Last thing I remember these elves put me in a teleportation pod. I shot the controls with my laser blaster hoping that would stop it and then…" She looked around. "But… I remember now. Just before I shot the controls I remember thinking I bet Donna Noble would have known what to do. Maybe… d'you think that could have affected the machine?"

Wilf shrugged. Then he glanced at his granddaughter who was still staring out of the window.

"Listen… I know you don't trust me, at all. I don't blame you." Evie said quickly. "But I really have to get out of here. Donna… she looked at me and I think she started remembering. I don't want to be responsible for… anything happening to her." She didn't elaborate because she wasn't sure what the Doctor had told Donna's family.

"Alright… when I say so, run for it, girl. Go out of the house, turn left and run. There's a pub at the end of the road – The Black Bull. Wait for me there. We'll work out what to do." He said making up his mind to help the teenager; she seemed genuinely concerned. Evie nodded, waiting for his signal.

After a couple of minutes, Wilf nodded sharply to her, before gasping at his chest and collapsing. As the two woman rushed to his side, Evie jumped to her feet knocking the chair over in her haste and ran. She followed his directions, skidding to her left as she reached the pavement and sprinting towards the pub.

She was breathing heavily when she arrived. All the running she'd done with the Doctor had come in handy, but she was still out of breath. Apprehensively, wondering whether the people in the pub would be able to see her as well, Evie went inside, heading for a table in the back corner. No one even glanced at her as she passed.

Wide-eyed, Evie watched them. She was staring so fixatedly at a man who was either looking at her or through her that she didn't notice the woman walking towards her until it was too late. Bracing herself for the impact, Evie felt the odd sensation she'd felt several times before as the woman walked straight through her.

Shivering, Evie settled herself in the booth, waiting for Wilf to arrive.

x-x

The Doctor was pacing. He didn't understand what the lists and the computer system meant. Children had vanished off the lists, but had they actually vanished? And why were there Vola working for SANTA? And where on Earth, or off Earth, was Evie Jones?

"Everything alright, Mr Smith?" Santa asked, catching the Doctor off guard.

"Actually, no." He said, spinning on the balls of his feet to face the man.

"Oh… I'm sorry to hear that. Anything I can do to help?"

"I was hoping you'd say that." The Time Lord replied with a grin. "You can start by explaining these lists to me."

The Doctor got the distinct feeling that Santa was trying to avoid his gaze. He narrowed his eyes, pulling his glasses off and eyeing the large man suspiciously. Santa took the lists in his hands carefully, his eyes running down the names. He obviously knew what the Doctor meant, but didn't seem eager to offer any explanation.

"Who are you, Mr Smith?" He asked at long last. The Doctor grinned.

"I'm the Doctor. Where's Evie?"

"The… the Doctor?" Santa's eyes flashed as he looked the man up and down. "I've heard tales of you before."

"I bet you have. But where is she, my friend?"

"She was taken to the Distribution Hub." Santa told him reluctantly. "For her own safety. She was going to be teleported to the nearest distribution centre."

"_Was_ going to be?"

"Yes… Miss Jones blew up the system with some kind of laser device. My elves are having to work to get it working again. She's fused the entire system."

The Doctor grinned, despite the fact that he still had no real answers. Typical Evie; her first thought was to use that stupid gun. That reminded him of someone else and he sighed, shaking his head and trying to make connections that didn't want to be made. He just hoped that Evie was somewhere safe. But maybe he could find out if he could take a look at the system.

"Let me see it." He demanded, anger returning to his features.

"I don't think so."

"I'm a genius; there's no one like me. Let me see your systems and I could fix it in about two minutes I expect."

"Why would you do that?" Santa asked, narrowing his eyes.

"I want my friend back."

The large man considered him for a minute, before nodding. He'd heard tales of the magnificent Doctor; the man who could send whole armies running. Leading the Doctor back towards the Distribution Hub, he thought carefully. As long as the Doctor was supervised, there shouldn't be any danger.

The Doctor whistled as his eyes fell on the device. Evie had certainly left her mark. One of the white cubes connected to the floating orb was completely wrecked. Scorch marks were clear all over it and the control panel had been blown off.

Vola were rushing around, trying to fix the device. There was very little chance of that. Each of the pods was connected to the main 'brain' of the machine – the orb. It was very like a series circuit and Evie had blown one of the pods completely free of the rest, effectively killing it. Although he knew that she had probably just pulled the trigger and hoped for the best, the Doctor was proud of the teenager for causing so much damage.

Leaping towards the orb, he pulled out the sonic screwdriver and aimed it at the central panel, which flipped open, revealing the workings inside. Awestruck he stared at it, pulsing and flashing and totally, totally brilliant. The technology was something that should have been beyond the Vola. Glancing over his shoulder he saw that it was; they had no idea what they were doing. The creatures were the petty criminals of the alien world – this was way off their scale. Someone else was behind this.


	8. Blank Walls and Empty Corridors

The glasses were back on as the Doctor contemplated the wires in front of him. He had a choice to make. He could either re-route it to take him to the original destination, the 'distribution centre' as Santa had called it, or he could find out where Evie had gone. He was lost in thought for a long time, trying to make up his mind. But it was time that he didn't have.

Deciding, he quickly reversed the pulses, isolating the dead pod, inverting the signals and sending power back to the main part of the teleporter. The Vola didn't even glance up as he darted around the orb, connecting wires and sonicing them into position. When he was satisfied with his work, he input the information into the main panel, threw himself into one of the pods and closed the door.

"_Allons_-_y_!" He cried to himself as the teleport beam kicked in. The words made him feel happier about what was about to happen. His surroundings disappeared briefly before, seconds later, he found himself lying on the floor of some kind of warehouse.

He leapt to his feet, looking around. One hand flew to his top pocket on his jacket, pulling out the sonic screwdriver. Putting his glasses in the space he had recently emptied in his pocket, the Doctor moved quickly, looking all around him as he ran. Evie Jones could take care of herself for a while; wherever she was, she'd have to.

To his left were rows and rows of what could only be described as pens. They were small, big enough maybe for a cow… a small cow at that. The Doctor scanned them quickly, checking the readings and looking puzzled at what he was seeing. Humans.

He scratched his head, messing up his messy hair even more, as he moved the sonic around, still scanning. According to the screwdriver there were children here… hundreds and hundreds of children… stretching back across time. What did that mean? He looked around wildly.

There was no one here.

x-x

"You need to be careful." Evie said, leaning back in the chair and crossing her arms over her chest. The old man took a sip of his drink and looked at her curiously.

"Careful? Why?" He chuckled. A man at the next table turned round, giving him an odd look.

Evie snorted and shook her head. "Because people will think you're crazy. Sitting here, talking to yourself."

"I'm not talking to myself." Wilf said, bemused. "I'm talking to you." Evie bit her lip, smirking slightly. Then she climbed to her feet and walked to the bar. In two steps she was standing on top of it. Wilf's mouth fell open, but no one else gave her a second glance. She walked along the bar, screaming. The old man winced at her piercing cry.

"Don't." Evie said, stopping him before he could speak. She jumped down from the bar and walked back to the table, not even bothering to dodge around the barmaid. Wilf's eyes nearly dropped out of his head as the teenager dematerialised and then almost instantly rematerialised on the other side of the woman.

"What…?" Wilf whispered as she dropped back into her seat looking grim. Evie smirked again, but this smirk didn't meet her eyes.

"I'm dead. Technically." She said with a sigh. Wilf was staring at her blankly and the teenager realised that she needed to explain properly. "The Doctor… he found me. I don't know how or why, but he found me. He's never said… why me? There's nothing special about me… nothing at all. But he said there was something about me, something he couldn't put his finger on."

"All the special ones say that." Wilf told her quietly. "None of them can see that they're important. You, my Donna… the Doctor sees them. The Doctor knows."

Evie smiled weakly, not really believing him. "Anyway, he took me home after our first adventure. But… the newspapers were saying I was dead. At first I didn't believe them but there were photos; my body, washed up on a river bank. So I'm dead. My best friends walked through me; like I wasn't even there. No one has been able to see me before. No one can hear me." She had decided to keep her sisters out of the conversation. "The Doctor thought there was some kind of boundary of about a hundred years around my timeline where no humans would register my presence."

"So when are you from?" Wilf asked, not quite grasping her unasked question. "When were you born?"

"1991. That's why none of these people can see or hear me."

"But… how can I see you… and Sylvia, Donna?"

"Exactly." The teenager said, raising her eyebrows. "That's exactly what I was wondering."

x-x

Blank walls and empty corridors were confusing the Doctor. He had scanned every inch of the warehouse with the sonic screwdriver and found nothing. Frustrated, he kicked a crate, causing it to fly across the floor, hitting a large stack of other crates. There was a whimper.

The Doctor stared. Since when did crates _whimper_?

"Hello?" He made his way towards the stack, screwdriver pointed at it. "Who's there?"

A small head poked out from behind the crates. A small, dark haired child was staring at him out of large brown eyes. He was dirty and unkempt and clearly terrified. His clothes looked too small; either they'd shrunk, or he'd grown out of them. The Doctor's mouth dropped open. The child stared at him, tears forming in his eyes and threatening to fall down the already tearstained cheeks.

"It's alright." He held out his hand to the small boy, encouraging him to come out of hiding. "I'm the Doctor, who are you?"

"E-Ellis. Ellis Matthews." The boy said in a small voice. Cautiously he crept out from behind the crates and moved slowly towards the Doctor, who was scanning him carefully.

"How old are you, Ellis Matthews?"

"Seven."

"And what are you doing here?" The boy shook his head, his eyes wide and terrified. The Doctor smiled, changing tack. "Are you on your own?" Ellis nodded. "Come on then, let's get you out of here."


	9. What's She Doing Here?

Evie had thought it would be harder to convince Wilf that she was telling the truth, but evidently the old man was open-minded – especially when it came to anything to do with the Doctor. He just nodded at her, signalling that they were leaving.

Outside he put an arm around the teenager's shoulders, hugging her tightly. Evie was strangely comforted, the man reminded her of her grandfather. They walked slowly back towards the Nobles' house. Evie was reluctant, but Wilf assured her that Donna was going out.

"It's Christmas Eve. Donna will be with her friends." He said. "And don't you worry about Sylvia… you leave her to me."

As they walked into the house, Wilf sent the teenager into the living room while he went into the kitchen to talk to his daughter. Evie could hear them arguing as she sat awkwardly on the sofa. In an attempt to block out the noise, she walked to the mantelpiece and picked up a photo. Donna, probably not much older than Evie was now, grinned out of it. She was so full of life and fire; Evie was jealous. Whatever the Doctor said, she was dead whether she felt it or not. She was a freak of nature… not even the TARDIS knew who she was.

"Don't get bitter, Jones." She told herself firmly, replacing the photo on the mantelpiece. "It doesn't suit you."

"Evie?" The teenager whirled around and realised that Wilfred and his daughter were standing in the doorway, watching her.

"Oh… I was just… sorry." She said guiltily, moving away from the photo.

"You can stay here." The woman told her grudgingly with a sigh. "It's Christmas Eve… it's the charitable thing to do. But not a single word about _him_ or any of that stuff, understand?"

Evie nodded vehemently, beaming. "I'll be good, I promise."

"Hmph." Sylvia said, settling herself on the sofa. Wilf was already sitting in the armchair, leaving Evie the choice of whether to sit beside the woman or in the corner, almost out of sight. Taking a breath she choice the sociable option. "How old are you, Evie?"

"Eighteen."

"So he's replaced our Donna with someone young enough to be his daughter… typical man." The blonde woman said annoyed. Evie caught Wilf's eye and they both had to look away so that they didn't start laughing.

"He hasn't replaced Donna with me." Evie told her carefully. "I could never do that, no one could. Donna was, is, probably always will be his best mate. He misses her so much, every single day. Whenever he remembers her or talks about her he gets this look in his eyes, so sad."

"Poor man." Wilf said sadly. "He talks about her then?"

The teenager grinned. "Only all the time! I know all about Donna Noble; the Doctor Donna. Like how she's the reason that the Earth came back, you know, when all those planets just appeared in the sky; Donna saved the whole world and everyone on it."

"That's my Donna… a hero and she doesn't even know it." Her grandfather said proudly.

"She's definitely my hero." Evie told him. "I wish I was more like her. The Doctor says I am like her, but she was so… brilliant. She knew what she was supposed to do. I tend to just mess up and then shoot my way out." She sighed deeply, pulling the gun out from behind her and laying it carefully on the coffee table. "The Doctor hates guns; he refused to speak to me for about half an hour when I first fired this one, even though I saved us from being killed by Cybermen."

Sylvia was looking at her, almost softly. She opened her mouth to speak when the door burst open and Donna crashed into the room, excitement threatening to burst out of her. Evie stared at her worriedly. Wilf and Sylvia exchanged a glance before returning their gaze quickly to the red-head.

"You will never guess what hap–" Donna started. Then her gaze fell on the teenager sitting beside her mother on the sofa. "What are _you_ doing here? What's she _doing_ here? _What_?"

"Donna, love, this is your Cousin Wendy's daughter, Evie. There was a slight mix-up earlier. She'd come to stay with us for a few days but seeing as we haven't seen her in so long and we hadn't got the messages..." Sylvia said, trying to stay calm. Donna looked suspicious.

"Who's Wendy?"

"You know…" Wilf played along with the story. "My brother's granddaughter."

"Right… so she's not my cousin at all."

"Well, not exactly."

"Oh… well, hi. Sorry for earlier and all that." Donna said to Evie, who managed a small smile before Donna returned to her story, leaving the other three to exchange a look and Evie to sneak the laser blaster out of sight.

x-x

"Now then, Ellis," The Doctor said as he and the small boy walked across the yard outside the warehouse. "How did you get here? What happened?"

The boy muttered something, which the Doctor didn't quite catch. He crouched down in front of the child, smiling kindly at him. Ellis stared back uncertainly for a minute or two, before returning the smile. He relaxed visibly and the Doctor straightened up, offering his hand, which Ellis took.

"It was Christmas Eve and Santa came. I was awake and I saw him. He put presents in my little sister's stocking and then… then the elves came."

"The elves?" The Doctor asked his forehead creasing as he thought. "Oh, the Vola. What did they do, Ellis?"

"They said they wanted to play." The little boy told him, tears streaming down his cheeks. "But they grabbed me and put this band thing on my wrist and I ended up in a white box and then in there. There were lots of children."

"Where are they now? Where are the other children?" The Doctor demanded, grabbing the boy's arms and looking into his face. Ellis shook his head.

"I don't know… it was a long time ago. A long, long time."

The Doctor's mouth fell open. "Last Christmas Eve? Oh, Ellis. I'm sorry! You've been here a whole year. How did you eat?"

"I found some houses. I went there at night when everyone was asleep."

The Time Lord felt anger rising up inside him, anger that he had not felt in so long. This was wrong, very wrong and he was determined to find out who'd done it and make them pay. But he didn't even know where they were; what planet they were on or anything. And it was getting dark. On Christmas Eve. It was nearly show time.

"Where are these houses, Ellis?" He asked, taking the little boy's hand. "Show me."


	10. The Time Lord Seethed

As the Doctor had suspected, Ellis Matthews was one of the names on the naughty list from last Christmas. But he still didn't understand. And he was quickly running out of time. They had walked for a while until several small cottages came into view.

Spotting some bushes, the Doctor had told Ellis to wait for him there and headed towards the buildings on his own. He had no idea what he was going to encounter. Armed with the psychic paper and his sonic screwdriver the Time Lord knocked on the door of the first house.

A woman answered. She looked human enough. Flashing the paper, the Doctor introduced himself as a fuel inspector, to the woman's confusion and barged into the cottage. His eyes darted around for anything that would help him work out where they were. A TV guide lay on the coffee table. So they were on Earth, the UK to be specific, which was a relief. Trying to narrow it down further, the Doctor looked for some sort of paper; preferably a local paper. Delighted, he spotted one lying on the sofa. On the pretence of wanting to read the headline he picked it up. It was Welsh. Brilliant, now he knew they were in Wales; narrowed down even further.

"So Mrs…"

"Jones." The woman said, crossing her arms over her chest defensively. Jones – another one. Then he remembered that Evie was still missing; a fact that he'd managed to forget until now. He felt a twinge in his hearts at the realisation.

"Mrs Jones." He said brightly, putting it to the back of his mind for now. "Do you have enough fuel to get you through the festive season?"

"Yes… thank you."

"And who supplies your fuel?" The Doctor continued.

"The gas board?" She said, as though he was stupid.

"Brilliant. Happy Christmas."

The Doctor escaped from the house, heading back to the place where he'd left Ellis thoughtfully. The boy looked at him nervously as he appeared. The Time Lord threw him a packet of crisps that he'd pocketed in the house and smiled, still deep in thought. As the boy tucked into the food, they headed back towards the warehouse. Eager to keep him hidden, the Doctor left Ellis in a deserted shed with his coat for extra warmth, after using the sonic to repair and boast the heating system, and crept back towards the main building.

His first port of call was the spot where he'd appeared after teleporting in the first place. There was a large circular metal disk, which the Doctor hadn't noticed before; how, he didn't know. Scanning the area with the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor found the control panel which he could use later to reverse the signal and get back to the Snow Globe. Growling to himself he realised that he was missing Evie, which was causing him problems in focusing.

Using Ellis's hiding place, the Doctor sat and waited to see what would happen. He had to wait hours and, when he eventually heard a sound from the other end of the warehouse, he was frozen and incredibly stiff. Rubbing his neck the Doctor peeked over the crates and saw about five Vola standing on the metal disk, two children with them. He watched the Vola pushing them into one of the cages and locking the door. Then they went back to the disk and vanished into thin air.

The Time Lord seethed. They were just children; they were completely innocent, whether they were on the naughty list or not. It took all his strength to stop himself going and letting them out straight away. But that would ruin the overall plan. He needed to wait until the optimum moment.

He also needed to work out what the plan actually was.

x-x

"So… Evie…" Donna said in a chummy tone, sitting beside the teenager on the sofa. She jumped at being addressed by the woman, terrified that she'd say something that she shouldn't. "What are you doing here then? Christmas with us – boring!"

Evie smiled. "My step-dad hates me. He got a bit handy with his fists so mum shipped me off." She was surprised at how easily she'd made the lie up. It was actually fun, making up a new history for herself. "I've been round most of the family over the last few years, but no one ever wants me for long; I just seem to be in everyone's way."

"I'm sorry." Donna said, putting a hand on the teenager's arm and smiling at her. Evie smiled back, happier than she could express to have met the Doctor's best friend.

The woman looked into her eyes and the girl had a very strange feeling in her head. Then she realised that she couldn't actually look away. Donna seemed to be looking into her mind. The red-head's mouth dropped open and she grabbed Evie's shoulders with both hands, gripping her so tightly that her nails were digging into the teenager's skin.

"Donna… you have to stop." Evie breathed, begging her to look away. "Please… you won't be able to stand it."

"No! I remember…"

"You can't!" Evie pleaded. She couldn't move; she couldn't even tear her gaze away from Donna's. Not knowing what else to do, Evie shouted for Wilf and Sylvia. They came running at the panic in her voice. "Help! Please!"

"Come on, girl." Wilf said urgently, trying to prise his granddaughter's hands off the teenager's shoulders. Her grip was too tight and he gave up after a couple of moments, scared of hurting them.

The blonde woman wasn't doing anything to help; she was just standing and panicking. Sylvia was muttering about how she'd known the Doctor would ruin Donna's life. She was also blaming Evie for coming here.

"Look away, Donna, please." Evie begged, tears falling down her cheeks. "I can't stop her… she's in my head. Wilf… help me!"

She could see inside the woman's mind. She could see her memories returning to her mind. The teenager saw a giant, red spider woman engulfed by fire and water, Donna watching in a wedding dress and the Doctor drenched by the water. The picture flickered and Evie saw a strange creature; almost like a human fish with a tank thing attached to its face. There was a blonde girl as well, dressed in a green t-shirt and black trousers, flipping head-over-heels through laser beams.

Wilf was trying to turn Donna's head away from Evie's but he was having no effect. He tried to break the gaze between the two, blocking their view with his hands. It seemed, though, that they were too connected for that to have any effect.

"I can remember…" Donna murmured. "I can remember it all."


	11. Donna Noble is Back!

Evie had been so worried that if she ever met Donna she would say something that would remind the woman of the Doctor, everything they'd done together and everything she'd lost. In the end, it wasn't words that reminded Donna – it was the look in the teenager's eyes.

But, also, Donna Noble seemed absolutely fine. If anything it was Evie who was suffering after the moment they'd shared. Her head felt like it was about to explode while the older woman was bouncing around the living room talking non-stop.

Falling into an uneasy sleep, Evie dreamt about all the things she'd seen in Donna's mind. The teenager had thought that she'd seen and done some amazing things, but the knowledge that Donna had… well, that put her experiences into the shadows.

x-x

The Doctor glanced at his watch. He'd been crouching out of sight for three hours since the first children had been left here. Now there had to be about a hundred. But he still had to wait until just before the end of whatever was going on. If he went in too early he would ruin everything.

He'd finally figured out his plan and turned the sonic onto the stun setting. In his fury, he half wished that Evie was here with her gun. But he only half wished that.

"How many more?" A gruff voice asked, making the Doctor jump.

"Not many, sir. Three." A squeaky, unmistakable Vola voice replied.

"Good. Then we'll send out the signal and move them straightaway."

He hated only knowing half of what was going on, but even half of this situation was enough for the Doctor to be filled with rage. He watched as the last child was locked into a cage, before gripping the sonic screw driver tightly and leaping out of his hiding place.

x-x

"How are you feeling?" Donna's mother asked her anxiously. The red-head beamed and grabbed her mother's face in her hands.

"I feel… amazing!" She laughed. Sylvia was worried.

"The Doctor said that your brain would burn out if you remembered him, even for a second." She explained, looking pained.

"Do I look like I'm burning out?" Donna asked, pointing to her face. Then she looked at the teenager lying on the sofa. Her voice softened and worry flitted through her eyes. "Evie doesn't look too good, does she?"

"No, she doesn't." Wilf agreed, stroking the teenager's forehead. Donna knelt beside her, holding her hand tightly.

"What's her story?"

Wilf sighed. "She's dead." Donna's eyebrows threatened to vanish into her hair. Her grandfather explained, repeating everything that Evie had told him.

"So how can we see and hear her?"

"Exactly." Sylvia muttered, looking as though she wished she _couldn't_ see or hear the teenager.

"Oh!" Donna said excitedly. "I know this one! It's the TARDIS. We've all come into contact with it, yes? And it was the TARDIS that put the blanket around Evie's timeline, sealing her in… or out… of the hundred years from when she was born until the day she turns one hundred. We escaped that because of the TARDIS energy."

Her mother and grandfather just stared at her, not really understanding what she was saying, but the red-head smiled with satisfaction. Donna Noble is back.

x-x

"Hello." The Doctor said striding forwards purposefully, his eyes fixed on Santa, who was watching him with a mixture of panic and interest. "What's going on here then?"

The large man stayed silent, staring the Doctor out until the Time Lord span round on his heels and started pacing again.

"Alright, I'll tell you what _I_ think is happening here and then you can tell me if I'm right." Privately he was sure that he was. "All these children are on the naughty list, yes. And you have kidnapped them for…" He waved his arms around wildly, staring around for inspiration for the next part of his theory, "… some kind of trade?"

"Close, Doctor. Very close but not quite right. All these children here will be sent to families around the universe who are in want of a child."

"Oooh… you're some kind of galactic adoption agency." The Doctor said his eyes widening as he realised what was going on. "And you chose the naughty list children…"

"… because they need punishment, yes."

"You can't do that, Santa. It's kidnap – it's against intergalactic law."

"Are you going to stop me, Doctor?" Santa smirked, narrowing his eyes and glancing towards the Vola who all surged towards the Doctor as their eyes turned red, signalling the lasers powering up. He, with the sonic screwdriver still on stun mode, aimed it. The creatures fell instantly; they just toppled backwards, eyes and mouths wide in surprise.

Santa's face displayed a slight hint of panic as he realised he was alone. The Doctor noticed this and smiled as he said a single word.

"Yes."

x-x

Evie had come round and was groggily sitting up on the sofa, wincing slightly. The stabbing pain in her head was receding though and, after a couple of minutes, she felt completely fine. She did notice, however, that Wilf and Sylvia were staring at her.

"What?"

"There was this gold… mist." Sylvia told her. "It was floating round your head."

"Oh…" Evie's brain kicked into gear, trying to work out what the woman was describing. "Nanogenes, probably. They're like tiny healing particles. But… how do I know that?" Her voice trailed off as she realised that before that moment she'd never heard of the particles before.

"I know almost everything the Doctor knows…" Donna said meaningfully.

"… and I know almost everything you know." The teenager finished. "Fair enough."

Donna grinned, shaking her head. "Isn't it completely mad?"

"Totally."

Wilf opened his mouth to speak, but there was a loud crackling noise and some kind of wave appeared on the television screen. In an instant the two women were on their knees in front of it, banging the sides and trying to get the picture into focus. Slowly a face appeared; a face that made Donna scream with happiness. The Doctor, wearing his glasses and looking as though he'd just seen a ghost, appeared on the screen.

"Do… what?" He said, looking bewildered. "Evie… what is going on?"

"You tell us, spaceman." Donna said, beaming it him.

Evie laughed. "The elves put me in that pod thing to teleport me somewhere, but I blew it up."

"I know… I saw the damage you caused." The Doctor told her, raising his eyebrows almost scolding her. Evie pulled a face.

"I knew you'd be proud, Sweetie." She said with a wink. The Doctor rolled his eyes. "Sorry… anyway just before the transmat beam kicked in and did its thing I remember thinking 'I bet Donna would know what to do' and then, bam! I ended up here."

"Transmat beam? Evie… how do you know what that is? You can't even get the hang of the automatic lighting controls in the library." He asked, suspiciously. It was true, apart from her laser blaster, the sonic screwdriver and the TARDIS controls, Evie and technology just didn't mix.

"Yeah…" She said slowly. "That's the other thing…"

"Something happened to us, Doctor." Donna cut in, pushing the teenager aside in her eagerness to talk to the Doctor. "Somehow Evie shared everything that you locked away in my head. I got my memories back, but I didn't burn out, because Evie got half of it."

"Well, slightly _more_ than half." The teenager quibbled.

"Alright, slightly more than half. Honestly, teenagers." Donna complained, rolling her eyes.

The Doctor stared between them, horrified. Donna Noble and Evie Jones in one room; both with Time Lord knowledge. He just hoped the world was ready for this.


	12. You Just Killed Santa

"OK, OK." The Doctor said, holding up his hands. He didn't have time for this right now. He'd been hoping to reach Evie, but he supposed getting both of them was a bonus. Although he was concerned about what had happened. "I need you to do something for me."

"Brilliant!" Donna exclaimed. "As long as it doesn't involve running."

"There is a _lot_ of running, isn't there?" Evie said, looking at her new friend.

Donna rolled her eyes. "Tell me about it!"

The Doctor stared between them again, perplexed. "Listen!"

"Sorry." They muttered sarcastically in unison. He sighed, closing his eyes for a split second. The Doctor could tell that this was going to take a lot of energy and patience.

"I need you to get into the government databases. There are about a hundred kidnapped children here that we need to get home. We need addresses for all of them."

"Doctor… how are we going to know which kids?" Evie asked, suddenly business-like. He smiled.

"One step ahead of you – I'm emailing a data form to Donna as we speak. It has the whole list on it."

"How are we supposed to hack into the government?" Donna asked raising an eyebrow.

"I thought you were the best temp in London? Besides, you have a friend who can help, don't you? Captain Jack? Try Torchwood, they might be able to help with more than just the databases. The number is coming to you with the list."

Evie and Donna grinned at each other and leapt across the room to the laptop. When they were out of earshot, the Doctor beckoned Wilf towards him. The old man leant towards the screen conspiratorially and the Time Lord could see how worried he was.

"Is she alright?"

"Donna? She seems to be. Evie had the rougher time of it. She passed out and everything. There was this gold mist around here… she said they were nanogenes or something, but she didn't sound too sure." He told the Doctor.

He frowned, wondering what had happened. Then he shook his head deciding to worry about that later. "Listen, Wilf. Watch Evie… her younger sister is on that list. And she still has that gun."

The old man's face suddenly vanished from view as the screen went dead. Briefly, the Doctor closed his eyes, sighing deeply. Then he turned and stalked across the warehouse floor to where he had Santa tied up and locked in one of the now empty cages. The children were milling around the main part of the room. It was surprising how resilient they were, the Time Lord thought. As soon as they'd been released they'd instantly relaxed, trusting him to get them home safely.

He beamed broadly at Ellis, who'd joined them, before turning to fix the man in the cage with a threatening glare. There was nothing he could really do until help arrived. But he could get some revenge.

"What's to stop me calling the Shadow Proclamation?" He whispered. Santa just smiled and reached up. He pulled off his face, making the Doctor wince, to reveal a smooth metal sphere underneath the 'skin'. "What are you?"

Using the sonic screwdriver, the Doctor scanned the being, taking in the readings carefully. "Ohh… brilliant." He murmured. "Android … but why? Unless… oh." He clapped his palm to his forehead, straightening up. "Of course. You're just a remote agent. Whoever's really behind this is long gone. Didn't want to get their hands dirty."

Overcome by a fit of rage, the Doctor aimed the sonic screwdriver at the Android Santa. The whining noise grew higher pitched until the thing exploded, sending Santa parts clanging around the cage.

"You just killed Santa." A little girl said accusingly, staring up at the Doctor. He breathed deeply, furious with himself for losing his temper. Putting a hand on the little girl's head, he steered her back to the others.

"That wasn't Santa." He told her firmly.

x-x

Donna had used her recently recovered knowledge to increase the laptop's power, boosting the signal to her mobile. Jack Harkness, however, was proving difficult to reach. The Torchwood hub had been blown up in June; they knew that – it wasn't exactly secret. But as far as they knew Jack and Gwen Cooper were still very much alive. The only surviving members of the Torchwood team.

"We have to find him." Evie said firmly. "He's our only hope."

"What about Gwen Cooper?" Donna asked. "Wouldn't she know where he is?"

"Dunno… what do we know about her?" Evie asked, tapping at the keyboard and trying to bring up an information file on the woman. Between them they had managed to manipulate certain codes and hack into the Torchwood systems. They still needed Jack, however.

"Not much… saw her once. She helped bring the Earth back that time using the Torchwood hub. The Doctor said '_they might be able to help with more than just the databases_'. What did he mean?"

Evie shrugged. "Think like the Doctor." She pulled a face, which Donna returned. "Scary prospect, I know. OK. We need to transport about a hundred children home before their families wake up on Christmas morning and discover they've vanished. How could…"

The pair of them looked at each other, suddenly understanding. "The Vortex Manipulator." They whispered in unison. Obviously that was what the Doctor had wanted them to beg, borrow or, even if the worst came to the worst, steal.

"Think, think, think!" Donna muttered, pacing backwards and forwards across the carpet. Evie had flung herself into the desk chair and was swivelling around, deep in concentrated thought. "If we can somehow reverse the signal…"

"We have nothing, Donna." Evie snapped in frustration. "All we have is my laser blaster and that…" Once again they stared at each other, quickly making links in their heads. "OK, we take the laser blaster, reconfigure the atoms into a different structure and invert the signal…"

".. then we _should_ be able to use it to create some kind of improvised gateway. It's not safe though."

"Do we have a choice? Realistically?" The teenager asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I guess not." Donna agreed with a sigh. "Gramps?"

"What?" Wilf immediately poked his head around the doorway, wondering what the matter was.

"We need you to help. See this list?" She waved the freshly printed list of children around and he nodded. "We need you to type the names into the Torchwood system and compile a list of addresses for us."

He looked worried. "Can't you do it?"

The pair glanced at each other. "Nope… we've got something else to do."

* * *

><p><em><strong>OK, for any science geniuses out there I know most of what I've written about reconfiguring atoms and inverting signals probably makes no sense at all, but hey, I'm just an Earth girl! :P It sounded impressive in my tiny brain! :D<strong>_


	13. Some Kind of Christmas Fairy

The women darted around the kitchen muttering half sentences and throwing their improvised tools between them. They had taken the laser gun apart, messed around with the internal parts and put it all back together in a completely different order. After about forty minutes they were satisfied with their work.

"Come on then." Evie said, taking a deep breath. "Let's test it out."

"Maybe only one of us should try it," Donna suggested, "just in case it doesn't work and we end up vaporised or something?"

"Don't be an idiot. We'll do it together, alright?" The teenager said, holding out her hand. Donna took it, almost reluctant to let the teenager risk her life, but didn't say anything. Going outside, they closed the door firmly, preventing Sylvia or Wilf from witnessing what they were doing; just in case it went wrong. Evie aimed the gun and pulled the trigger. A beam shot from the end and shimmered in a large square in front of them.

"It's like the Squareness gun." Donna mumbled. Evie shot her a questioning look but, rather than asking her what one of those was, she pulled the woman forwards into the space.

"Think of Cardiff." She ordered.

Immediately their surroundings shimmered and vanished and the women found themselves standing in Cardiff. Cardiff Bay to be exact. Donna screamed, hugging Evie tightly. The teenager was just as excited as her friend, but she managed to hide it slightly better.

"It works!"

"Course it does." Evie replied, relieved that it had worked, but not letting on that she'd ever doubted it would. "What time is it?"

"Nearly half one." Donna told her. "We've got to get moving."

They repeated the process, finding themselves back in Donna's garden. Evie shoved the gun into the waistband at the back of her jeans and they went back into the house. Wilf had done his best to get through the list, but he'd only made it to 'M' and the women had to take over. By half past two they'd completed the task and were ready to move onto the next stage.

"Be careful." Wilf ordered, hugging each of them tightly. Sylvia smiled before turning away, not wanting her daughter to catch her crying. Evie grinned, thrusting the papers at Donna and pulling out the blaster.

"Let's go." She said seriously, checking that nothing had altered on the weapon, before heading towards the back door. "Let's go and find the Doctor."

x-x

The Time Lord had spent the last few hours occupying children. Now, though, most of them had fallen asleep on the hard concrete floor of the warehouse and he was doing his best impression of making sure they were behaving. Glancing at his watch, he sighed, wondering how much longer he would have to wait. It was twenty to three – if Evie and Donna didn't hurry up they'd run out of time.

The Doctor glanced at a girl sitting bolt upright, watching him closely. Erin Jones, Evie's younger sister. She'd seemed like such a good child, not one who would be put on the naughty list. Although, the man supposed, your older sister being murdered might change you a bit.

He had just made up his mind to go and talk to her, when an odd, shimmering haze appeared in the corner of the room and he leapt to his feet. He was walking towards the spot, sonic screwdriver raised, when two figures appeared out of thin air. The Doctor's eyebrows shot upwards as he realised who they were; the red-head and the teenager tucking a gun behind her into the waistband of her jeans.

"Evie!"

He turned and saw Erin sprinting past him towards her sister. The teenager looked horrified. She wrapped her arms around the girl, hugging her tightly. Crouching down in front of her she checked Erin all over for injuries and, evidently satisfied that there weren't any, she held her tightly again.

The Doctor didn't have the chance to watch anymore as Donna ploughed into him, hugging him tightly. He hugged her back, laughing, feeling as though his hearts would burst with happiness.

"But… how?" He asked in astonishment.

"No time for that now." Evie said sensibly, her sister's hand clutched tightly in her own. "We've got work to do, right? Donna… you have the lists."

"Yep. We were thinking… if we split the children into groups according to geographic locations we can split up. That'll make the whole thing so much quicker." Donna told him.

"But… if we go to one location we still have to travel around to drop the children off. Besides there are only three of us." The Doctor argued, running his hands through his hair. The red-head smiled.

"One step ahead of you again, Doctor." She said grinned. Putting her hand into her pocket she pulled out three small, circular devices. The Doctor examined them in wonder. "I never knew what they were; I thought they were just paperweights. But I could never bring myself to get rid of them."

"Personal teleportation devices." The Doctor breathed.

"I boosted the signal so they'll carry everyone, as long as you're all physically connected. But with so many people to carry they'll only work over short distances, which is why we need the gun as well for the first part."

"You are brilliant." He breathed, hugging her again.

"I know, spaceman. You can tell me just how brilliant I am later!" She joked, throwing one of the devices to Evie, who caught it in one hand, still holding onto her sister.

They worked quickly and calmly, trying to reassure the children. The Doctor took the English children, Donna the Scottish and Evie the Welsh and Irish children. Erin, although technically coming under the English category, stayed with her sister. The Time Lord nodded, understanding with no words needing to be exchanged.

"Meet back here afterwards." He said. The women nodded.

Evie fired a beam from the gun. "Think of somewhere in England." She told the man. He did as he was told and he and the children surrounding him vanished in a shimmering haze. She repeated the action with Donna's group.

Already being somewhere in South Wales she didn't need to use the beam on her own group, sticking to the smaller device in her hand. They moved quickly all over the country, taking the children home. One of them said she must be some kind of Christmas fairy, which made the teenager laugh. She used the gun to transport the remaining children to Ireland, dropping them off as well. Finally it was just her and Erin.

"Come on, Sweetie." She said, putting an arm round her sister. "Let's get back."


	14. She's Impossible!

Donna and the Doctor were back before Evie and her sister. Donna ran over and pulled her into a tight hug as they materialised in the warehouse. The teenager laughed, introducing the woman to her younger sister before turning to the Time Lord who was watching her.

"You still think you're nothing special, Evie?" He asked. She considered the question for a moment before nodding.

"I haven't changed." She said quietly. "It's what I know that's changed."

"Surely that's what makes you special?"

"But that's not me, is it? It's you and Donna inside my head."

He shook his head. The girl was determined to believe that she wasn't important. Clearly that had been disproved, but if she wasn't willing to accept it then there was nothing the Time Lord could do.

"Come on. Let's get this little trouble maker home." He said, ruffling Erin's hair, before winking at Donna. "Then we can sort Erin out as well."

"Oi, spaceman." The red-head snapped, punching him on the arm and pretending to be annoyed. The ten-year-old giggled as the Doctor picked her up. Evie blasted a beam from the gun and they found themselves knee deep in a snow drift, but outside the TARDIS once more.

"Hello old girl." The Doctor said happily, bursting through the doors. Donna followed, delighted to be in the little blue box once more.

Erin was speechless, her eyes as wide as saucers as her sister pulled her inside, closing the doors and rushing to the controls. Without communicating she, Donna and the Doctor began flicking switches and pressing buttons. The TARDIS began to fly, taking them through time and space.

When they landed, the Doctor nodded to Evie who smiled weakly back. Taking Erin by the hand she led her outside and through the farmyard. Helping the girl climb up the trellis and in through her old bedroom window, Evie had to keep breathing deeply to control her emotions. It was strange seeing Erin at ten after everything she'd been through – especially since she'd been all grown up the last time she'd seen her.

She tucked Erin back up in bed, stroking her hair lovingly. "Listen," she murmured her mouth close to the child's ear, "I want you to write it down, OK? Everything you remember whenever you see me or the Doctor or that little blue box. Write down who we were with, what we told you, everything. Alright?" Erin nodded, looking at her sister through big eyes full of wonder. "Promise me, Erin."

"I promise." She said nodding fervently.

"And tell Millie too." Evie said quickly as she stood up and moved back towards the door. "Oh… and happy Christmas, Sweetie."

x-x

"Right then, Donna Noble. Let's get you home." The Doctor said, bringing the lever down quickly and sending them shooting through space. Donna pouted. "Don't give me that look… you can't stay."

"Why?" She asked, putting her hands on her hips. "Evie and I make a pretty good team – we could give you a run for your money."

"Exactly. The two of you in one place… it's too dangerous." He said.

Evie frowned. "Can't handle competition, Sweetie?"

"It's not that." He told them exasperatedly. "Sharing the knowledge between you means that the information in Donna's mind is stable – for now, as long as she doesn't learn anything more that could set it into flux. But by being in the TARDIS the energy could bring the levels out of sync and cause Donna's mind to still burn out."

"So… what about my mind?" Evie asked. The Doctor moved to her side and put his hands on the side of her face, closing his eyes. The teenager found that her eyes had closed as well, without her realising it. The strangest sensation was coursing through her; almost as though the Doctor was physically reaching around inside her.

"You… you're fine." He said shortly. Evie opened her eyes and saw that he was puzzled. Then she blinked and the expression was gone, as was the Doctor, who was flitting around the controls.

Donna slipped an arm around the teenager's shoulders, seeing that she was shaken. Curiously she looked at her and, for a split second, she could have sworn that the girl's eyes were glowing gold. But then the light was gone and Evie was smiling at her. Together they returned to the controls, helping the Doctor to fly his beloved space ship.

Evie moved around the other side, pulling the scanner screen towards her and taking in the readings it was displaying quickly. Taking advantage of her distance, Donna turned to the Doctor quickly, raising her eyebrows.

"What's wrong with her?" She asked in a low voice, glancing over to the teenager who was still watching the readings.

"She's impossible." The Doctor said with a shrug, following Donna's gaze.

"She's not the only one." The woman snorted.

"No, I mean… she really _is_ impossible. She's technically dead."

"But… how…" Donna couldn't even form the question that was buzzing round her brain. The Doctor shrugged.

"The TARDIS took me to her – it found her for something. And it saved her. I don't know why or what for. But Evie Jones is important for some reason."

"Can't you find out?"

"One day, maybe. Think about it Donna… you and me – we didn't know where our paths were leading, did we? But we got there in the end and it was brilliant."

"It was amazing." She agreed, nodding.

"So one day I'll work it out, but not just yet."

"Is she even a real person?" Donna asked, jokily. "I mean… you don't do too well on your own, do you? You haven't just invented a little friend, have you?"

The Doctor stared at her in surprise as she stopped speaking. Donna was slightly alarmed by the look that was passing through his eyes as he took in her words – a mixture of horror, doubt and uncertainty – but she didn't have a chance to question him as the teenager approached, looking at them suspiciously. They both grinned and she looked even more wary.

"What?" She demanded.

"Nothing." The Doctor assured her. "We were just saying how brilliant you are." Evie rolled her eyes and walked away, still not believing his words.

x-x

"Are you sure you don't want to stay?" Wilf asked as they stood on the road between the TARDIS and Donna's house. "It is Christmas, after all."

The Doctor glanced around him curiously, something catching his attention and immediately putting him on guard. "No, thanks, but I think we should just get going. There's something… something important that I have to do."

"You're more than welcome to stay." Sylvia said, almost believably.

"Thanks." Evie said, hugging the woman, who was taken aback. She carefully put her arms around the girl, returning the sign of affection. Evie broke away, hugging Wilf and finally Donna.

"Be careful, Evie Jones. You're a special one." Donna whispered so that only the teenager could hear her. "I've seen it."

Evie narrowed her eyes slightly as she pulled away from Donna. The red-head only smiled before turning her attention to the Doctor. Glancing at the man as well, Evie saw that his gaze was fixed, sadly on his best friend.

Moving out of the way, Evie slipped into the TARDIS, leaving him to say goodbye privately. Her thoughts were still fixed to what Donna had said.

* * *

><p><strong><em>This is the penultimate chapter lovelies! Comments would be very much appreciated! :)<em>**


	15. We'd Rip the Walls of Time Apart

The Doctor was quiet when he returned to the TARDIS. He said nothing as he started the engines and set the blue box moving. The teenager didn't bother him, knowing instinctively that he wouldn't want to be disturbed from his thoughts at the moment. There was something more to his mood than sadness… there was almost a determination in his movements.

Instead she set about returning her gun to normal. Briefly she'd wondered whether to leave it as a teleportation device, but she still had the personal one Donna had given her and she missed her old laser blaster. It took her longer to turn it back than it had taken the pair of them to change it in the first place but Evie supposed, as the old saying suggested, two heads are better than one. Especially if those heads contain such extraordinary information in the first place.

While she was working, possibilities were flashing about in her brain – things they could do, things they could change. One of them refused to be ignored; screaming out for attention. Before she could mention it, however, the Doctor looked up.

"Evie… there's something coming, something big, something dangerous. Or rather some_one_." He said carefully. There was real fear in his eyes, which caught Evie off guard. She'd seen a real mix of emotions in the Time Lord's eyes, but never fear.

"Someone you know, Sweetie?" She asked, suspecting the answer.

He nodded. "Someone that I know very well. I would tell you more… but I don't know any more. He's coming, soon. But other than that…" He shrugged, turning back to the console. Then he turned back again, his head tilted slightly to one side. "Why do you keep calling me 'Sweetie'?"

"I call everyone Sweetie." She said, wondering why he'd even asked. "It's a term of endearment, isn't it? Although I suppose you're the only person left for me to call Sweetie now." Evie said with a sigh. He nodded slowly before turning again and setting his gaze firmly on the console. She watched him for a few minutes, wondering if now was the best time to mention her query.

"I've been thinking." Evie said suddenly, unable to contain it anymore. Her voice made the Doctor glance up from the TARDIS controls. He seemed sad, but a neutral expression moved over his features as he looked at her.

"Ooh! Risky!" He joked, sensing that she was about to say something serious and trying to lighten the mood.

"No, seriously…" She took a deep breath steeling herself for what she was about to request. With everything she knew now, she was aware that there was almost no chance that the Doctor could agree, but the nagging voice refused to leave her alone. "Could we… I mean, is it possible… the day my parents died… can we go back and save them."

"No."

Evie jumped at his harsh tone. The answer had come almost before her question had been asked. He was looking at her seriously, shaking his head firmly. Evie was curious about how final his tone was. "No?"

"No… I went back once, I tried to stop Rose's father being run over. It ended badly – he died anyway and it made things harder for her. You cannot change history like that, not in your own timeline. It's dangerous, it opens cracks. Bad things happen."

"But I don't have a timeline anymore. Not properly." She argued.

"I said no." He repeated firmly. "Evie… even though you're… I don't really know what you are. But it's still too dangerous. We'd rip the walls of time apart."

"OK… so what if we just go back and have a look?" She asked, refusing to give up. "Then we could maybe work out how I know the woman in the photo."

The Doctor shook his head again. This time he wasn't so stern. There was something in his eyes, almost as though he didn't _want_ to know the answer to that question. "No."

"But why?" Evie complained, almost sulkily. "You know who she is, but you won't tell me… clearly it's something important." The Doctor didn't answer. "Doctor? Who is she?"

There was a long pause. He looked at the teenager, considering what to tell her. She was looking at him, a mix of emotions in her eyes; defiance and interest, hurt and confusion. The Doctor knew that she wouldn't give up until she'd found out the answer to her questions. That was one of the things he loved about her. He sighed; a deep, shuddering sigh that conveyed how tired he was, mentally and emotionally.

"River… her name is River."

**– THE END –**

* * *

><p><em><strong>:O So River is in Evie's photo. But why? Whatwho is Evie? I gotta admit when I wrote this I had no idea who the girl was! But now I do! :D**_

_**Spoilers!**_

_Evie looked at the Doctor as she often did since he'd regenerated, wondering just how different the man behind this face was from the man behind the last one. He certainly managed to answer the tricky questions she threw at him every now and again – just to test him out. He was the same, but different as well. Sometimes when he looked at her… it was almost as though he was looking through her. Like her friends had and the people in the pub when she'd been with Donna's granddad and all the other people as well._

_**So… what do we think lovelies? Evie and the 11**__**th**__** Doctor? Will we finally find out who Evie is? Who knows! **_

'_**Almost Time' is the next story and it's coming… very soon!**_

_**(But only if you comment ;))**_


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